Because of the thermal coefficient of expansion of the parts of a measuring machine, stable temperatures are required for accurate measurement. Precision measuring machines have heavy beds, heavy measuring stocks and heavy tailstocks. An anvil is fixed on the tailstock, and a movable anvil is fixed on the headstock. The movable anvil has a precision readout gage thereon. The anvils are placed at a known distance from each other by movement of the headstock and/or tailstock by use of a reference or standard gage block therebetween. The reference block is removed and a part to be measured is placed therein. The readout indicates the difference in dimension between the standard block and the part now between the anvils. The moving anvil and its readout have a very small movement so that movement of the stock on the bed and recalibration are often required. The physical handling of the stocks and even the radiation from the hands when positioning parts to be measured put heat into the measuring machine. The increase in temperature causes dimensional changes in the machine to reduce the measuring accuracy thereof. It is necessary to wait until the temperature is again stabilized before measuring can proceed. Thus, there is need for a way to decrease the amount of heat entering the precision measuring machine and to quickly remove heat added thereto.